January show and Furniture News sponsor Gallery cycle ride

January Furniture Show (JFS) – plus sponsors including Furniture News magazine – is supporting supplier Gallery Direct in its bid to complete The Royal British Legion Pedal to Paris cycle ride later this month.

The four-day ride from London to Paris raises money for the Armed Forces community. Commencing on 30th August in Eltham, London, the ride covers a total of 460km (284 miles).

Peter Delaney, MD of Gallery Direct, and Bruce Bell, marketing director, completed the ride seven years ago with Simon O’Leary of Alontin Sales & Marketing, the distributor for Gallery Direct in the Republic of Ireland, along with two friends.

At this year's January Furniture Show, the three made the decision to participate again, and this time seven friends will join them, forming a team called The Crocked Messieurs.

The team hopes to raise over £9000 for The Royal British Legion, and is already well on the way to its target, with over £5000 raised so far, with other fundraising initiatives planned for later in the year.

Bruce says: “It is such a fantastic cause to raise funds for, and the ride, although challenging, is great fun. The sense of achievement cycling down the Champs-Élysées, which is closed to traffic for us, is amazing. This, combined with the ceremony at the Arc de Triomphe and the money raised, makes all the aches and pains worthwhile.

"We hadn’t planned to do it again, but we were reminiscing at the January Furniture Show, and one of us jokingly said we should take part again this year – and, the next thing we knew, we’d signed up! We’ve managed to persuade more friends to join us this time to raise even more money, and we’re all really looking forward to it."